SmugKitZine Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

richard-fieldhouse Many reviewers here seem to have gone to this film led to expect a comedy. But this is about as funny as The Seagull which Chekhov himself imagined was a comedy when he was asked for a description after he'd written it. But that should not matter for this film any more than it does for The Seagull, because the film has a genuine original story, and world-weary, damaged, but unquestionably involving characters.The story is of a bitter, three-times divorced, and more or less bankrupt American, Mathias Gold, who is left a Paris apartment in his father's will. He arrives in Paris obsessed with turning the central and elegant, but neglected property into huge amounts of cash as fast as possible, only to find that it is occupied by the old lady of the title and her daughter and that they hold it in form of life tenancy that Gold finds deeply frustrating.Kevin Kline plays Gold with a sympathy that's unexpected for those of us who know him for rather frenetic parts like that in A Fish Called Wanda. But, not for the first time, it's Maggie Smith who steals the show as the tenant, still quintessentially English, despite living most of her life in . Likewise, Kristin Scott Thomas is so perfect for her role as the daughter that you feel the film could hardly have been possible without this pairing to play out the deeply complex mother - daughter relationship.The film has flaws and indulges itself a little at times, especially with the rather unnecessary opera singer, but it is, on the whole, nearly perfect. Not to be missed.

Paul Evans New Yorker Matthias arrives in Paris to inherit a valuable apartment, and having money worries he thought it would be a quick fix to his problems. The trouble is he also inherited a tenant and her daughter, Mathilde and Chloe. The trouble is under French law, he's legally obliged to let her live there and pay her a pension, en viager. Any attempt to evict her or sell the property would result in legal action.This is a beautiful film, it's funny, poignant, moving, and at times frustrating when you consider things from the point of​ view of Matthias. The three leads are fantastic, Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas, and of course the show stealing Maggie Smith. Matthias ends up in some fairly dark places throughout the film, Kline does a great job of convincing the viewer that Matthias has had a tough life. Some of the laughs are brilliant.Beautiful scenery, Paris is a glorious City, and if you've been you can't help but be in love with what you see. It's a magical place, and I think the film manages to show that.Some may find it slow, but if you enjoy a character study, you'll love this one 8/10

winopaul I note that people either love or hate this flick. Add me to the haters.My fundamental problem is that the whole premise is implausible. I mean, the deadbeat bum got offered 9 million Euros for the building. Close to ten million bucks. But I guess in true New Yorker fashion, he had to hold out for 12 million. A person of his character would be on a first-class jet back to the Big Apple and starting on his coke habit 20 seconds after g the contract. But then we wouldn't have all the other implausible drama.Every major character was deplorable. Kevin Kline played a dead-beat bum and a whiny man-child. You can blame your grandparents (I'm Irish so I drink!) or you can blame your parents (Mommy didn't love me!) but here in real life we become adults and we can shape our own personality independent of genetics or upbringing. He is also a thief, stealing furniture to sell off for pocket change. His alcoholism and his relapse is almost to be expected. Of course he is an extortionist, shaking down the developer for cash at every opportunity.Deplorable #2 is Maggie. She's an adulteress that is not even sure of the paternity of her own daughter. She is also a venal gold-digger, that only stayed with her husband since he was rich. To top things off, rather than get a job and keep her apartment building in the family, she follows her bum muse, and sells it off in a kind of private reverse mortgage.Then there is deplorable #3, the daughter. She is another bum that needs to live with her mommy so she does not have to work too hard or find a husband. In addition, she is a mistress home-wrecker, just like mommy. Selfish to the core, she only worries about the affect of Keven's appearance on herself. What a peach.They are from a milieu of deplorables. Kevin's dad is an adulterer, obviously. This man so full of love he needs side action does not have enough love to play catch with his sullen spoiled little boy (or leave him an inheritance). Kevin's mom is a piece of work. A ive-aggressive narcissist that repeatedly tries to kill herself, and finally succeeds in blowing her brains out in front of her young son. Zappa comes to mind, "You better get it right the first time, 'cause there's nothing worse than a suicide chump." I guess with a wife like this there is no wonder the dad cheated on her. Maggie's husband has such low character he stays married to her despite knowing he is being cuckolded.The only decent people are the doctor, the real estate agent, the gal singing opera, and the shopkeeper that bought the stuff from Kevin. The developer might be hated by some people, but he is only trying to make Paris modern, and provide more housing. He was also a man of his word, letting Kevin extort him based on promises. They get a total of 3 minutes of screen time.The fact that the deplorables are considered normal by the scriptwriter is the best reason to never live in a big city like New York.OK, so how do we fix this mess? I can see a murder mystery. Make Maggie even more rotten. Make the daughter much nicer. Maggie is killed. The movie would implicate Kevin, who is, after all, a creep. Then he gets put in prison, and we find the daughter really is his sister, so she can file a claim and get the house, and who cares if it will be in court for a decade, she has a place to live. Agatha Christie with a level-1 Shyamalan.Or make it a thriller. Kevin kills Maggie, which does save a lot of budget, and we watch that real estate agent, now cast as a detective, solve the crime. Halfway through, Kevin learns the daughter is his sister, and he is trying to kill her too. Now we have the damsel in distress. Make the doctor the detective's sidekick, she is so sweet and hot, can't lose with that casting. Have the developer as a love interest for the daughter, so they can get married and she ends up the property anyway. Jules Maigret crossed with Columbo.

SnoopyStyle Mathias Gold (Kevin Kline) arrives in Paris to claim his inheritance. His father left him a large apartment in the city and not much else. He is thrice divorced, failed writer and penniless. He hopes to sell the apartment quickly and leave. Instead he finds Mathilde Girard (Maggie Smith) living there. His father had actually bought the place as a viager. Mathilde lives in the apartment until her death and gets paid €2400 a month. She allows him to stay which infuriates her daughter Chloé Girard (Kristin Scott Thomas). François Roy needs to buy the apartment to build his hotel.The problem is that the dangers in this movie isn't that high. It's a self-pity party and at the end of it, he becomes a multi-millionaire. I can certainly see Chloé's point of view but she was always going to be kicked out. I don't see why selling to the hotelier is such an evil act. The whole situation has no real conflict other than one ginned up by the movie.It's not until the movie gets personal that the real drama begins. The three characters have interesting hidden conflicts. The three actors are acting the hell out of it. However it goes off down an off-putting alley. It's weirdly awkward navel gazing. I can't feel for any of the characters. The movie doesn't have any intensity for me.